What Causes Tight Quad Muscles That Create Knee Pain?
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- This is a video that helps to explain why people develop tight quadricep muscles and more importantly what you can do about it. Make sure you read the detailed article in the link below as this provides you with exercise videos and instructions of many of the things discussed briefly in this video.
www.noregretsp...
Knee pain is a very common issue people face that affects their training and activities in daily life. Prior to the onset of pain is when stiffness is felt and it is at this point you need to look closely at what is causing this and put a plan in place to change what is going to become a permanent change. I see so many people with severe loss of knee mobility that could have easily been prevented if the correct action was taken early on.
In many cases the tightness is more to do with weakness and poor alignment than over use and the quads being too strong. The tightness is merely a protective mechanism from the body to protect the knee joint from more harm as the underlying problem is the poor alignment of the patella caused by dysfunctional repetitive movement. Stretching WILL NOT change this faulty alignment of movement with the clients I had little success and in some cases stressed the patella even more further complicating the stiffness at the knee.
See article below for more on this
www.noregretsp...
The quadriceps muscle attaches directly to the knee cap and then the knee cap attaches directly to the tibia. This forms a strap. As the knee flexes further and further the strap tightens and compresses the patella into what is called the trochlear groove causing compression within the joint. If it is left in this position for too long and especially if you love to tuck your legs under the chair it is inevitably going to cause problems at the knee. This is one reason why people with knee pain find it difficult to stand up after prolonged sitting and it takes a while for their knees to loosen up. By leaving their body stuck in this position compressing the joint for a long period of time the body will react to this stress by stiffening muscles surrounding the joint to protect it from more harm, which only serves to make things worse as time goes on.
See article below for more on sitting causing compression
www.noregretsp...
The knee is caught in a crossfire and dependant on these joints to perform their roles correctly to maintain perfect alignment. If any of these joints are unable to complete their role effectively it disrupts the optimal alignment of the patella in the knee and now you are set for trouble as it will be impossible for the patella to track correctly when the knee is fully flexed.
When you lower body into a squat position the knee cap engages into the trochlear groove (track) and is guided down the femur and as you straighten the knee when you begin to stand up the patella tracks back up the groove. This is what is known as patella tracking.
The inside of the joint is covered in articular cartilage designed to reduce the stress that occurs in the joint created by the quadriceps. However, if you lack the correct alignment of the patella in the trochlear groove you can end up with increased stress within the joint usually on the outside or lateral part of the knee as the larger more powerful quadriceps muscles begin to take over the work from the VMO. And eventually this stress becomes pain! This is where you see foam rolling on the outer part of the thigh, (ITB) to release this tension. This may help to some degree.
However, on its own it will do little for it isn't just tightness on the outside of the leg that can produce issues. Weakness and or timing issues of the medial stabilizers can also cause the knee cap to track incorrectly when you move. Remember the knee is not really the problem. It is the joints above and below forcing it into faulty alignment to begin with.
Read the other articles below about VMO strength and patella tracking
www.noregretsp...
www.noregretsp...
And for the complete KNEE PAIN PROGRAM make sure you download our step by step program from our website below that includes a 60 minute video and instruction manual
shop.noregrets...
The biggest factor for me is tucking my legs under the desk when I work on the computer. It is a really bad habit I get into and it causes all types of trouble to my left quad and eventually my knee if I keep doing it.
I do this aswell.. I will try to keep this in mind from now on! I have had problems with pain in my right knee for 3 years now and it seems like any exersising i do just makes it worse... i have a background in skateboarding and strength training/bodybuilding but i think most of my problems actually comes from bad posture at the desk and maybe some overloading from squatting with bad posture aswell.
i have a apointment with physiotherapist this monday.... again... for what feels like the hundreth time.. some days it just feels hopeless
@@taggarn First step in correcting bad habits is being aware of them. Keep working on it and you will find your solution
As someone who has been struggling almost a full year now (could not even walk without a cane in the beginning) i can confirm this. I used to put my legs under my chair and then cross my feet and i did this a lot before my trouble started. I also noticed i developed a pelvic tilt while playing basketball but i didn't know what i was back then. 2 amazing take aways i got from this video are. What you think might be the solution could be part of the problem (stretching/instability) and sitting makes these muscles extra tight. When everything hurt in your quads knees and hips you don't want to walk. Meanwhile walking in a relax tempo and good posture might be the best thing you can do. Thanks a lot sir!!!
Your the only person on youtube that knows what causes tight quads. thank you for this.
Glad I could help
Heya Nick,
This is by far the best video I've seen about what causes dysfunctional quads! Thank you so much for sharing this information. Along with Egoscue Postural Therapy, doing Single Leg Deadlifts have helped me so much (in really getting my life back)! Even just with feeling how much or little stability there is on one leg/foot vs the other. In the past I have done so many quad stretches, and I feel that doing the Wall Quad Stretch - for me - actually exacerbates dysfunctional moving patterns; the pelvis / hips feel(s) much more out of alignment by doing this particular stretch. There's a reason for the quads to be tight, and you explain it very well in this vid!
That is great! Glad I could help you out. Cheers Nick
Thank you for this informative video!! I'm a runner and my quads get tight thus resulting in knee pain. I am working more with improving hip/glute muscles. I see a PT soon to have gait analysis. Looking forward to that appointment!!
Awesome! Hopefully you find the root cause of your trouble
Omg this is incredibly helpful. I have super tight quads and have been given exercises from various physios etc to strengthen core and butt to counter act and watch my posture. I think they recently acted up from sitting too much and tucking legs under desk and I hve been doing almost too many stretches where knee is bent.
I have leg muscles that are partially paralyzed ( spinal cord injury) Partial Paraplegic. I have been injured 42 years. My Quads have always been my best muscles, 100 % operational, lately at age 70 my quads have been feeling bruised and have been spasming as well as shaking. My legs gave out last week for the first time. I wonder why my always reliable and strong Quads are giving out. Just happening the last 4 -6 weeks. Its scary when you walk with two canes and your only good muscles give out ! Anyone else have this issue ? Watching and listening here. Thank you.
Great explanation.
I think I have issues that you're covering here; but I don't really undestand what you're saying. As a layperson, I need instructions on what to test, how to test it, and how to resolve the revealed issues. Do you have any resources on that?
I'm a computer programmer. I sit too much, and don't exercise enough. I'm a bit fat. My right shoulder is slumped forward and downward. My right pectoral muscle looks flat, and has a bit of a valley on the outside. My left pec is nice and big and round. (I'm right-handed btw.) My torso seems shifted to my left. Almost like it's curved toward the left. My left lower ribs flare leftward/forward. My right scapular muscles don't feel right. Like if I put both my arms up and outward into L-shapes, and move them up and down (or do pull-ups) it sort-of feels like below my scapula, on the right, back side of my ribs, it feels almost a little separated, and as I pull downward, when my elbow passes about 15 degrees below my shoulder, it feels like maybe there is a ridge or something that the scapula is sliding over. Sort of like the ridges in your car door that separate the different stable positions it can sit in.
My right foot points outward, and the knee seems to be inward. If I stand and look down, I seem to be shifted to my left, because I'm not looking straight between my feet, but more towards the left.
I also "seem" to have anterior pelvic tilt, which I don't know is really an issue, but I would like to "fix" it for cosmetic reasons. The other stuff is a cosmetic issue as well, but I think it is also causing me issues, like migraines, pain in my upper back and neck and back of the skull, dizziness, and swelling and fluid sensation in my knees.
Also, my knees seem to be susceptible to getting an acute pain, occassionally, after I run, or do a lot of stair climbing (just doing housework), or if I just land funny, when walking down the stairs. Then the I'll get a sharp pain in my knee, but only when I try to ascend or descend a stair. And I'll be in this condition for around 1 day, and then it will go away, so I can go up and down stairs without pain again. Actually, when I have that pain in my knee, I can't actually fully use that leg to go up and down the stairs. I have to limp down the stairs, leaning on the rail.
What should I do to fix this? If I got to a professional, who should I go to? (A physical therapist, I assume.) And what do I tell them?
Many years ago, I asked my doctor about this, and they seemed skeptical, but let me get some x-rays, and said they found nothing. About 3 years ago, I saw a physical therapist about this, but they didn't seem interested in hearing my explanation, and I wasn't convinced they were going to fix my problems after about 5 visits.
Btw, this video struck me, because I've been doing internet research on my issues; and I have found that I have surprisingly tight quads (and apparently not tight hip flexors). My research has also suggested that I probably have weak glutes and abs. These issues seem to be complex and tricky. Your video here touches on everything below the hip that I've been suspicious of.
You definitely have a lot of things going on and it would be wise to find a good physical therapist to assess you. I do have online programs specific to knee pain, back pain, and shoulder pain but yours sounds more like the issues I regularly see with lateral pelvic tilt. This is where someone may have a multitude of injuries from the foot to the shoulder caused by asymmetrical alignments and poor movement. Quite a complex problem to solve and will differ significantly from one person to the next even when they have the same symptoms. It is impossible for me to give you the correct advice without assessing you or seeing you move as I would only be guessing. Your best bet is to find a therapist you trust. You will find some good exercise examples and more detailed explanation of the lateral pelvic tilt I just described in the article below. Hope this helps you out noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/428-how-to-correct-lateral-pelvic-tilt-leg-length-discrepancy
This was so informative I have been suffering from patellar tracking problems and knee pain for the last 5 years I have started working on hip mobility and strengthening and have had some relief. Where I live in the Caribbean we do a lot of access to this type of treatment. So how can I work on correcting the problem at home
Hi Patti, I would continue with your hip mobility work and begin adding some stability exercises. Starting with simple bridges but progressing to the single leg stance exercises and learning to bend correctly. Body-weight will be enough to start making good progress here. These are often the two biggest movement problems I come across with knee issues. You will find some ideas of how to do this here noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/274-how-to-use-the-single-leg-squat-to-pinpoint-weaknesses
Is it possible to have a tight VMO ?I have medial knee pain and when I try to foam the muscle it’s tender and I can’t release it I’m looking into possible doing dry needling. The knee pain feels like a dull ache.
Not likely to be a tight VMO. Could be more a strained patella tendon or the muscle is fatigued and responding with trigger points. It is hard to say without seeing you move for it could be a lot of things. I doubt that the VMO is tight for most often it is very weak as it is easily inhibited by other more powerful dominant muscles. Try to work on your leg alignment and find someone to do an assessment to help find out what is contributing to the problem
Ive been to 2 different naprapath’s and 1 fysio here in Sweden and no one even talked about this…this feels so like me ! I really need to look more into this! Thank you for this 🙏
Glad I could help out
When we have bone spurs encroachment there is no way th8s can help,. I wish I had stiffness cause it's Simple to fixbone spurs in LUMBAR AND THORAC CAUSES SEVERE stiffness
Yes bone spurs can be a real problem
Useless. No sulution offered.
I'm a hacker jogger and I found quad pain can be caused by not allowing the ankle to flex or worse consciously locking the ankle as a technique.
Yes ankle stiffness can be a real problem to the quads and knee
Thanks for making such an in depth video! I’ve been studying the science of weight training for hypertrophy for the last 3.5 years, and have a good understanding on technique, but I’m still learning. Avoiding injury is a becoming a more important topic to me, as I get into heavier loads at higher volumes. One of the problems I’ve recognized is my posterior chain taking the bulk of the load in my squats. At first I wondered why I was getting such great glute development over my quadriceps. This video has helped me realize I need to work on my lack of mobility in my ankles to really help get my knees to come forward more and even out the emphasis from glute/hamstring to quad. Funny thing is I’ve had many informed people watch me squat, and say I have good technique. But something as small as mobility in any part of the lower body can have negative effects such as pain or keep you from properly hitting the muscles you’re intending to target. Great content! And I wish more people out therein your field were as informed as you.
No problem Tony. Glad I was able to help you out
I think studying them separately will bring the most benefit. Also, hypertrophy doesn't require compound movements. You are also lifting for strength as you do compound movements. There are levels to compound movements but for muscle size you could just stick to machines that force form and take the load off the body. Leg Press and Hack squat with leg extensions and leg curls are hard to mess up at any skill level and are also much safer.
I think all knowledge should be combined and integrated but for best understanding they should not be mixed when you start. Take the lessons separately. Also, back to the weights. There is a big difference in lifting for looks and function. It is better to decide on which route when you start. If you pick one instead of both, you will have much better results and much faster with less pain/injury. Good luck
This video deserves a lot more praise
Thanks
Can't sleep it at night feels like it's gonna cramp up but it doesn't its just the reaction
Amazing video and incredibly detailed!
Glad I could help
Thank you Very much. Your video helped my stiff quad. Swelling and pain full when walking and bending knee. Most pain on lateral side of knee. I had IT band pain. After 3 days of IFT stiffness reduced to 60% on 4th after watching video i understood reason behind stiffness. And when i squd on floor something pooped. And stiffness is gone.
That is good news that were able to resolve it so quickly. Well done
I really think you can help me more than anyone I have seen. Do you work somewhere patients can see you?
I work in Melbourne Australia
I have bunions, a collapsed arch, lack ankle mobility, lack hip mobility, tight tfl (I think they were caused by weak glute medius, im working on strengthening them) I also have very tight hamstrings since I'm 14 the doctors said I had growing pains which they said would affect my knee 2 yrs ago, but at that time I was playing sports so I was running around all the time didn't stretch much. Then I'm pretty sure I developed patella tendinitis or tendinopathy because my knee would hurt alot from standing walking, going up stairs also my knee would buckle alot when walking and it was next to impossible to kick my knee out ( like taking a penalty kick) I don't have those symptoms anymore but I can't sit kneeling down cuz it there's a very painful pulling and popping in my knee when I do.
Do you think I have any hope of fixing all my leg problems?
I'm 5,9 weigh 70kgs look kinda skinny and 14, if that matters.
Yes you can still correct your problem but it will take a bit of time to find the right balance of exercises and also considerable time for the body to adapt to what you are trying to change. The fact you are aware of some of your other problems is a good thing as you can begin working on this immediately. Your problems sound very consistent with lateral pelvic tilt where this a chain reaction of multiple joints and problems caused by either pelvic or foot instability. Without assessing you in person it is impossible for me to be certain but I would suspect something similar to this is going on. Read this article to see more on this and exercise ideas that may help you out noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/428-how-to-correct-lateral-pelvic-tilt-leg-length-discrepancy
Thanks!!!!!!!!!! ❤
Thanks man for this
My VMO are both swollen after exercise, they have been swollen for 2 weeks nothing is helping, any advice?
Its hard for me to say what that could be without seeing you. I suggest to go and see a physical therapist who can examine you correctly to ensure there is nothing structurally damaged. Swelling means there is inflammation so you need to find out what is going on before attempting to apply corrective exercise. There could be many reasons why the swelling is there so it is wise to get more information before attempting to move forward.
Thanks so much! I'm watching this bc any exercise that I try to do like squats or even lunges hurt my knees so much that I have to stop but I want to so much bc o want to strengthen my legs ☹
Make sure you read the website article as well as this includes many exercises I might use that I did include in the video and a detailed explanation of these various problems with strengthening
Thank you for this insight. I'll get a physical therapist to work with me on my alignment and movements.
Great stuff
Been told I have tight quad causing patella pain
You most likely are quad-dominant and expose the knee to extreme flexion with little involvement of the posterior chain muscles. This is common to the person who has patella pain. Without assessing you it is impossible to say exactly, but I would investigate your ability to complete a RDL effectively and see if there is any stiffness with the glutes and hamstrings forcing you into excessive knee flexion. A very common problem.
Thank you for this ! Im really bummed because I do pilates on the megaformer 4 days a week and run 3 days a week. I work a desk job and rarely tuck my knees . However I do sit Indian style frequently . Could this cause issues with the quads/knees ? My alignment when I workout is spot on - and it’s slow controlled movements . Im guessing it just may be overuse and I need to give my body a break . Or should I also adjust my sitting Indian stile position ?
I would suggest to eliminate the Indian sitting style for a few weeks. It can cause problems to some people similar to glute stretching where they twist the knee. The fact you keep doing it repeatedly makes me feel it is something you could explore as a potential cause of creating more instability at the knee. If you avoid this completely and try to stop tucking you knees under your desk, in combination with trying to improve your knee stability you should start to feel some improvement in a few weeks time. It could take a lot longer than that to finish the job but at least you will know where the "leak" may be coming from. Hope that helps
@@Noregretspt you are amazing ! Wish you were here in the US. Thank you and God bless
17:00 you mention the quads are working very hard as there's no help from the posterior chain therefore, surely that would force load onto the quads to get them to grow stronger as they have to adapt. however in the bullet points, you mention the quads and hip flexors are weak? How does that work please? Are they just weak all over type thing? Hope that makes sense - very informative presentation thanks
Hi John yes it does sound confusing at first. The quads will become overworked as they will have to perform their role and also the role of the entire posterior chain. This excessive workload will do a few things. First it will force massive compression into the knee joint as it is taking all of the load instead of sharing some of it with the hips. This is where the quads may get stronger but it will begin to use stiffness to protect the knee therfor limiting its ability to move the hips. The rectus femoris is the key here for it crosses both the hip and knee joint. It becomes weaker at the hip and tighter at the knee! Because the head of the femur is being thrusted forward in the hip joint, it weakens the front of the hip as it over stretches it. But at the other end near the knee the quadriceps are taking all of the load by themselves. They have no choice but to create stiffness or the knee would slide right over the tibia. The key is to get the hips and the posterior chain to do more work and move that pelvis into anterior pelvic tilt where the glutes can switch on. The hamstrings will also be in a state of short and stiff as the pelvis is being tucked under and they will also be protecting the knee and lumbar spine as a reactionary muscle group. Basically there is many bad things going on here and you have to change this position to more neutral alignment to have any chance of muscles working the way they are designed. A good question, maybe I didn't explain it as well in the video as I should have. Sorry about that. Cheers Nick
Noregretspt no worries at all - really helpful answer thanks!
@@Noregretspt that's the best explanation I've heard of this issue! It sounds very much like my case. I have to watch the entire video now :)
@@Knud451 hope it helps you
Thank you so much
Glad I could help you out
Wow I wish you were in the UK as I'd book immediately
Glad I was able to help you a little bit
@@Noregretspt yeah I've suffered with sharp knee pain for a couple of weeks since increasing exercise, couldn't walk without limping, was getting worried as it wasnt improving and thought I would need an arthroscopy for a meniscus tear I have, but 10 minutes of quad stretching has significantly helped so I think I need to focus on flexibility, thanks!
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Got this from pregnancy 😓
Mussels were not designed.
Again, this was really informative. As you mention you get tight quads from tucking your legs. I seem to be tensing up in my hip flexors when sitting. I'm not sure if its the leg and/or spine position. Do you have any tip on this?
Make sure your chair position is not too low. This is often the biggest mistake I see when this problem occurs. I would also spend time stretching the glutes and doing bodyweight Romanian Deadlifts regularly throughout the day to release the stiffness in the posterior chain. For it will be this area that is leading you into butt gripping. You can read more about this here noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/304-how-constantly-gripping-your-glutes-and-abs-ruins-your-stability
@@Noregretspt thanks a lot! Except for the shoulder gripping, that sounds exactly like me. I need to watch all the videos and learn how to remedy it. Especially the trunk gripping (just to get the sense of a flatter stomach) is a nightmare.
@@Noregretspt the foot stability videos are really good. I can definitely relate to it.
One question on the RDL. On the contrencic, I get some hip impingement. Could that because the femur is pushed forward in the socket (as you mention in one of the videos)?
@@Knud451 Without seeing you to be certain it sounds like that is the case. Even when you start doing all the right things to correct your problem it will take some considerable time to get the joint to center itself correctly. You have to be consistent with the releasing of glute stiffness and learning to master the RDL with 2 legs and eventually 1 leg to correct this issue. The article I did on anterior pelvic tilt gives you a bit more information on this. noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/339-understanding-anterior-pelvic-tilt-and-its-importance-to-hip-function
@@Noregretspt thanks! Absolutely. This all started with an acute injury almost five years ago now.